More than straight teeth.
Healthy breathing, tongue posture and swallowing can all play a part in your child's orthodontic journey.
Rachel’s approach to orthodontics looks beyond the position of the teeth. How we breathe, where our tongue rests and how we swallow can all form part of the bigger picture.
Rachel uses Tongue Teacher, a myofunctional therapy app, to help assess these areas and provide support where appropriate alongside orthodontic treatment.
What is Tongue Teacher?
Tongue Teacher is an app designed to assess and support oral function — the way the tongue, lips and muscles of the mouth and face work together.
It looks at areas including breathing, tongue posture, swallowing and lip function — all of which can be relevant when we are considering how a child's mouth, jaws and teeth are developing.
Rather than assuming every child needs the same support, Tongue Teacher allows us to start with an assessment. Rachel can then review the results alongside the child's orthodontic records and recommend what, if anything, would be beneficial.
The assessment is simply our starting point.
Completing the assessment doesn’t mean your child will need additional therapy or treatment. Rachel will review the results alongside their orthodontic records and recommend the level of support that is appropriate for them.
What happens next?
Tongue Teacher helps us understand your child's oral function before deciding whether any additional support would be beneficial.
Complete the assessment
You'll receive an invitation to Tongue Teacher so your child can complete their assessment at home.
Rachel reviews the results
Rachel will review the assessment alongside your child's orthodontic records and treatment needs.
Your recommendation
Rachel will explain whether any additional support would be beneficial and which level of support she recommends.
What might Rachel recommend?
Every child is different. Once Rachel has reviewed the assessment, she will recommend the level of support that is appropriate for your child.
Self-managed support
If appropriate, Rachel may recommend a self-managed Tongue Teacher programme alongside your child's orthodontic treatment.
For comprehensive orthodontic patients, the recommended self-managed programme is included within the orthodontic treatment fee.
Myofunctional therapy
Some children may benefit from more individual support than a self-managed programme provides.
In this situation, Rachel may recommend assessment or treatment with an appropriately trained myofunctional therapist.
Breathing re-education
Where breathing patterns would benefit from more focused support, Rachel may recommend breathing re-education with Mia at Soar Valley Dental Practice.
This provides individual support specifically focused on developing healthier breathing patterns.
Frequently asked questions
A few things parents often want to know about Tongue Teacher and how it fits into orthodontic treatment.
-
No. The initial Tongue Teacher assessment allows Rachel to understand your child’s oral function and consider whether any additional support may be beneficial.
-
No. The assessment is simply our starting point. Rachel will review the results alongside your child’s orthodontic records and make an individual recommendation. Not every child will need additional support.
-
If Rachel recommends a self-managed Tongue Teacher programme for a comprehensive orthodontic patient, the programme is included within their orthodontic treatment fee.
-
The programme included with comprehensive orthodontic treatment is self-managed. It does not include ongoing professional supervision, therapy appointments or a final professional reassessment. If Rachel feels your child would benefit from more support, she will discuss the available options with you.
-
Rachel may recommend professional myofunctional therapy or breathing re-education, depending on your child’s individual needs. These are separate services and additional fees will apply. Rachel will explain why she is recommending further support and the options available before you decide whether to proceed.
Received your Tongue Teacher invitation?
Follow the instructions in your invitation to complete your child’s assessment. There’s no need to purchase or download anything independently from this page.